When Worlds Collide
by Winekita
Summary: Crossover between my future Leo and Artemisapollo97's future Leo. A rare mirror suddenly transports little Zac Valdez, along with his sister Espie, from New Athens to New York City—but it's the wrong world's New York City! Now Leo has to rescue him, with Tulio at his heels, but what will happen when he meets his other self—and his other self's family? T to be safe.
1. Reflections

**_So, I've been wanting to do this for a while. Like, 'before the Keys' a while. Originally, this was supposed to be little Tulio going over, but then I decided to make it Zac—the more adventurous son._**

 ** _I love Artemisapollo's stories, especially the ones about Leo. Her OC Louisa Smith-Jackson, Percy's twin sister, is the one that married Leo in her version. They had two daughters and one son: Elsie, Alokia, and Charlie. Fun fact: Tulio's middle name, Charles, is a tribute to Charlie Valdez._**

 ** _I asked her long ago if I could do a cross-over, and she did approve, but I never got around to writing it. Until now! :D_**

 ** _Let's pretend this happened between the Aphrodite Discovery and the Keys. I didn't want Leo to be paralyzed here._**

 _ **I own nothing you recognize as canon. I also do not own any of ArtemisApollo97's OCs.**_

* * *

 ** _*~When Worlds Collide~*_**

 ** _One: Reflections_**

Zachariah Valdez poked his father in the leg with some pliers. Leo looked down as he hammered a sword straighter.

"No, _mijo_ ," he said. " _Papi_ doesn't need them."

The three-year-old pouted and continued poking Leo. Tulio, his brother and Leo's elder son, lifted his head from his own project—a shield for a New Athenian.

"Zac," he said. "Don't bother _Papi_."

Zac gave his best grumpy face and skulked away without uttering a word. He plopped down under one of the tables and didn't move afterwards.

Leo looked over at Tulio. "What's up with him?"

The demititan shrugged. "Dunno. He was fine earlier."

Leo sighed and abandoned his project. He walked over to where his youngest child was sitting and pulled gently on one of his caramel curls. When Zac looked at him with sad eyes, Leo's heart broke a little.

Zac held the pliers up. Upon closer inspection, Leo saw that a screw had fallen out and the tool was now broken.

Leo smacked his forehead. "Oh." He reached into his tool belt, brought out a screwdriver and a tiny screw, and fixed Zac's pliers. "You could have just said so, Zac."

Zac beamed and hugged him. "Thank you, _Papi_!"

Leo patted him on that back. "Use your words next time, kid," he said. "Then maybe I'll help you faster." He looked at the things surrounding his son. "What are you even doing?"

Zac grinned. "Present for Espie!"

"You're making a present for your sister?" Leo asked happily. "What's the occasion?"

"Make Espie happy!"

Leo glanced back at Tulio, who shrugged and smiled. He turned back to Zac and ruffled his son's curls. "Keep up the good work, then, _mijo_."

"Almost done," Zac announced, holding up a bronze dolphin.

Leo grinned and kissed him on the forehead. "Lookin' great, Zac. When you're done, you can go show Espie, okay?"

"Okay!"

* * *

Esperanza Grace Valdez rifled through the attic of the Big House. The Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, had been sculpting with her, and sudden inspiration had hit, so she wanted something from up here. She said it would be a bag of ribbons in a box labeled _1994_.

What she had failed to mention was that that particular box was enormous and filled with too many items. Every item she took out she ended up flinging across the room—unless it was glass, then she'd set it down gently.

Footsteps rumbled up the stairs. Espie turned to see her little brother rushing up into the attic, a big grin on his face.

"Hey, squirt," she said. "Thought you were in the shop today with Tulio."

Zac wiggled around, trying to hide something behind his back. "I made somethin' for you, Sissie."

Espie placed whatever she had grabbed from the box on the ground. She hadn't even looked at it yet, but she knew it wasn't a bag of ribbons. "What'cha got?"

Zac held out a bronze dolphin with emerald eyes and rainbow fins. "I made it special!"

Espie smiled and hugged him. "Aw, I love it! Thanks, lil' bro!"

Zac squeezed her back.

"Why'd you make it for me?" she asked. "It's not my birthday."

He grinned. "Just cause you are the best sister!"

"Aw!" She hugged him again. "That's so sweet. I'm totally gonna brag about that to Aria later."

"Do it!"

Espie pushed him away and turned back to the box. "Wanna help big sissie find a bag of ribbons? It's somewhere in this box, but I can't find it."

Zac padded closer and peered inside. "Lots of junk," he noted.

"Yeah." Espie smiled. "But, _Papi_ always says one person's junk can be a useful item to another."

Zac looked down to the things Espie had placed on the ground. He picked up a mirror and looked at it with a curious gaze. "Wha's this say?"

Espie took the mirror. This must have been the item she'd put down as Zac came in, because she definitely didn't remember it. It was a green and gold mirror with black writing around the glass. It was in Ancient Greek, and Zac hadn't quite figured out that language yet (he was already bilingual, so a third language was hard at the moment), so she read the writing out loud:

" _Two Reflections, but one is home,_

 _To reach yours, simply roam,_

 _Find home's reflection, if leaving is what you yearn,_

 _Find this reflection, and you shall return."_

Zac tilted his head. "Wha's that mean?"

Espie shrugged. "Don't know. It must have meant something back in 1994. Somebody must have swiped it from a quest or something."

Zac took the mirror and made a silly face. Espie came up behind him and scrunched her nose up and stuck out her tongue.

Suddenly, the mirror began to glow. Espie blinked. The light blinded her.

Seconds later, she found herself sitting next to Zac… _outside_!

"Wha—?" she stammered.

Zac looked around with wide eyes. "Where are we?"

Espie noticed they were in some sort of alleyway. She relayed that information to her little brother. He looked at her with wide eyes. "Why are we here?"

"I don't know," she answered.

She took his hand and led him out of the alley.

* * *

 _Elsewhere…_

"Dad, can I borrow your pliers?"

Leo looked at his son with raised eyebrows. "Why?"

Charlie had an untrustworthy look on his face. One that told Leo, _Don't trust me because I'm an evil little imp_.

"Why do I think you're gonna use them for evil purposes?" Leo questioned.

Charlie just grinned. "'Cause I am. I'm making a Jack-in-the-box that pops up with a jelly squirtgun. It's for Joe."

"And you're sure Joe will appreciate having jelly squirted at him?"

"Ye of little faith." Charlie wagged his finger. "It's for Joe, but he _requested_ the item. Okay, he requested a jack-in-the-box as a present for his cousin, and I took it upon myself to include the squirt gun to make it more interesting."

Leo sighed and tossed some pliers to the mini-Leo. "Whatever."

Charlie grinned. "Thanks, Dad." He was about to dash away when he thought of one more thing. "Hey, can I also use the jelly in the fridge?"

"Ask your mom."

"She's at camp right now with Uncle Percy, remember?"

Leo shrugged. "Then I guess you're not using the jelly from the fridge."

Charlie stomped his foot. "Why? It's just _waiting_ to be used!"

"I think I'll use it to make PB&J when your mom gets home," Leo said cheekily.

"Dad," the teen whined.

"Go buy your own jelly," Leo prompted. "You're a big boy."

Charlie held out his hand. "Can I borrow a ten?"

"You've got an emergency credit card. Get your butt to the store or no jelly at all."

And that was final. Charlie huffed and stomped out of the room, shouting behind him, "Then I'm stealing these pliers! I'm never giving them back!"

Leo rolled his eyes and grabbed some new pliers out of his tool belt. "While you're out, would you mind grabbing things from the shopping list?" he called. "We definitely need some more milk!"

Charlie left the house and started the ridiculous trek to the grocery store. He wasn't old enough to drive yet—not that his mother or father would allow him to _touch_ the car without supervision. Festus wouldn't be up for some random ride either, which stunk.

"Man," Charlie whined. "I don't wanna walk a couple of blocks! This sucks…"

He was in the middle of planning his revenge on his father when he accidentally ran into someone. They both crashed to the ground on their butts.

"Ow," he squeaked. "I thought _my_ head was hard!"

He looked at the person he crashed into and narrowed his eyes.

Sitting across from him was a Latina with curly black hair that was tied back in a loose ponytail. She had impish features, like a turned-up nose, round face (not plump, but rounded), and pointed ears. She looked just like Charlie!

"Wow," he breathed. "Am I looking into a fun house mirror or something?"

The girl looked up. Her brown eyes—weird, how they looked like his father's eyes—narrowed in confusion. "Whoa," she said. "I could say the same thing."

A little boy with pale skin, curly cinnamon-colored hair, and almond eyes, looked out from behind the girl. "Tui?" he muttered.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What's a Too-yi?" he asked.

The girl stood up and helped Charlie to his feet. Normally, girls jerked back at Charlie's hands. It was because of his internal temperature; his fire made his temperature soar on a normal basis, and girls' hands were generally cold, so he nearly burned them on contact.

But her hands almost burned _him_! They were just as hot, if not hotter, than his hands!

The girl looked at the little kid. "That's not Tulio, Zac. This kid has green eyes."

The kid—Zac—blinked at Charlie. "Kinda like Lacy."

The girl nodded. She looked back at Charlie. "Sorry for running into you. I was busy trying to keep my little brother from running into the street. He's pretty hyperactive."

"No problem," Charlie said with a shrug. "I wasn't even paying attention."

She stuck her hand out for him to shake. "My name's Esperanza. Esperanza Valdez. You can call me Espie."

Charlie froze. "V-Valdez?" he stuttered. "Small world…" He took her hand. "The name's Charlie Valdez."

She blinked in surprise. "Wow! This _is_ a small world! You must be related to me in some sort of way. Let me guess, your grandmother's name is Rosa?"

Charlie grimaced. "No," he spat. "My dad told me about his aunt Rosa once. I'm glad she's not my nana. My grandma's name is actually Esperanza. Weird, huh?"

Espie backed up a pace. "Wait, your _dad_ has an aunt named Rosa and your grandma's name is…"

Charlie could almost see the wheels in her head turning. She gave him a weird look. " _My_ grandma's name is Esperanza, and _my_ dad has an Aunt Rosa. Now _that's_ weird. The only thing that would make this weirder is if we had the same dad, but that isn't possible…"

Charlie shrugged. "I hear ya. Coincidences happen all the time, right?"

"Sure. So…if I told you my father's name was Leo Valdez…that probably wouldn't mean anything to you, right?"

Charlie's world screeched to a halt. "Uh," he said brilliantly. "Actually…"

Espie's eyes widened. "Are you serious!?"

"Normally, no, but in this case I can't joke about my parentage." Charlie rubbed the back of his neck.

Espie squinted at him. "Then, who's your grandfather, if we're talking about the same guy?"

Charlie chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me."

Zac, who Charlie had forgotten was even there, piped up, "Gandad's name is…um…Festus!"

" _He_ phaestus," Espie corrected. "Festus is the dragon."

"Okay," Charlie interrupted with his hands up. "This is getting too weird! We both have the _same dad_? I only have _two_ sisters, and you sure as Hades ain't one of them. Plus, I'm the youngest, so there's no way he could be my brother!" He pointed at Zac.

Espie shrugged. "I don't know what's going on, either, dude. I've got two brothers, one of which is my twin."

"What about mother?" Charlie asked. "Do we have the same mom? My mom's name is Louisa."

Espie's eyes widened. "Well, there's the difference. Mine's Calypso."

"As in the Titan?"

She nodded.

Charlie smacked his forehead. His dad had…on his _mom_ …with a _Titan_ no less! "Oh gods," he whispered. "Mom's gonna _kill_ Dad!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

" _Papi_ , where are Espie and Zac?"

Leo shrugged as he cleaned his hands off. He was done for a while and was about to make lunch. "I know Zac went to find Espie, but that was a while ago."

Tulio looked worried. "I just…I feel strange. Like when Espie goes on a quest and she's far away, I feel like we're detached. When she's in camp or at home, I can kinda feel her presence."

Leo cocked an eyebrow. "And you don't feel that now?"

"No!"

Leo patted his first-born son on the shoulder. "We'll find her. She and Zac couldn't have gone too far. If anything, I'm sure Zac found something interesting and led Espie through the woods."

"Should we tell Mom?"

"No!" Leo blurted. "I mean…she doesn't need to hear about this. It's probably nothing."

"You're worried Mom will murder you if you lost Zac, aren't you?"

Leo speed-walked through the shop and exited. Before he hit the street, Tulio heard him call, "Maybe…"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Yes, there are two different worlds, so that means two different Leos (at least the kids call him different things, which makes it a little easier). I recommend at least reading one of Artemis' stories. 'Charlie Valdez' or 'The Hot and the Cold are Both So Intense' are really good ones to read.**_

 _ **I'll involve Lou next chapter. It might take a while to post since I am having Artemis sorta-beta the parts with her characters.**_

 _ **Stay cool, y'all, and see you next time!**_


	2. Differences

_**Yay, more crossover time!**_

 _ **I own nothing you recognize as canon. I also do not own any of ArtemisApollo97's OCs.**_

* * *

 **Two: Differences**

"Okay, I don't get it," Espie said while scratching her head. "Percy has a _twin sister_? That sounds so unreal."

Charlie shrugged. "It's normal for me. What sounds unreal is Dad actually marrying that Titan lady. Isn't she, like, a thousand years older than him?"

"Three thousand," Espie corrected. "And _Papi_ loves Mom. Even Piper said their love couldn't be stronger. They're _literally_ tied together by their Fate-strings! I can't see him being with anyone else."

"Not saying it's a bad thing or a lie!" Charlie held his hands up in surrender. "It just sounds… _wrong_ to me. When I think of Calypso, I think she's lounging on a beach somewhere with boyfriend three hundred-something without a care in the world."

Espie shivered. "I'm getting freaked out by this."

"Me too."

They arrived at Charlie's place, which looked like a normal house in a cul-de-sac with a garage attached. The garage door was open, revealing a complicated machine shop. A bronze van was parked on the street.

"You have a car?" Espie asked. Her family had no use for a car, since everything in New Athens was walking distance, as was camp. If they traveled outside the borders, pegasi and Festus usually worked as transportation.

"How else do you think we get around?" Charlie retorted.

"Festus!" Zac screeched, plowing ahead into the shop. A bronze dragon head lifted up from the back of the shop, its ruby eyes glowing curiously.

Zac ran up and hugged the automaton happily. "Hi, Festus!"

The dragon reared its head in alarm and spewed oil. Zac ignored the oil and hugged harder.

Charlie tilted his head. "Weird that he knows Festus, but Festus doesn't know him."

Espie shrugged. "I don't know how this is, either."

Zac looked around, confused. "Where are the TFs?"

"TF?" Charlie asked.

"Tiny Festus," Espie explained. "They're literally mini Festus robots. _Papi_ made them as an outer defense system—only, TF Mark 1 decided it wanted to be independent and was reassigned as the babysitter when Tulio and I were born. He was also kinda the tattler when my brother and I got into mischief."

Charlie snickered. "Interesting…Dad never made things like that. I bet he'd wish he had when I was born."

Espie's eyes lit up. "You were a troublemaker, too?"

"Of course! You can't look like Dad and _not_ be annoying!"

They high-fived.

The door connecting the garage and the house opened. Out strode Leo Valdez, eating an apple. He froze mid-bite when he saw Zac. His whole expression just screamed, _Huh?_

Espie narrowed her eyes. This wasn't her _Papi_. This guy was clean-shaven, older—maybe lower to mid-forties?—and way skinnier. Her _Papi_ was much more muscular and broader than this guy. Trouble was, this Leo, sans the earlier differences, looked exactly like her Leo; same old tool belt, same fashion sense, same grease-stains, same oil-slicked, curly hair—he was the same!

Leo's eyes traveled to Espie and Charlie. They widened upon seeing Espie.

"So," Charlie drawled. "Instead of getting jam, like I said I would, I found something interesting. Dad, meet my sister, Esperanza."

Leo spat out the apple pieces in his mouth. "Excuse me?" he yelped. "Run that by me again, please!"

Espie held Charlie's shoulder firmly. "This isn't my _Papi_. Mine is younger than this, and not as skinny."

Leo just blinked at them. "Am I having a mid-life crisis, here? What the Hades is going on?"

Zac rocketed toward him. " _Papi_ ," he shouted. "I gave Espie the dolphin! She said she loved it!"

Leo didn't reciprocate the hug the child was giving him. "What dolphin? Who are you? WHAT IS HAPPENING?"

Zac pulled away and tilted his head at the son of Hephaestus. Then, he grimaced. "You aren't _Papi_. _Papi_ is nice! You mean!"

Leo's jaw dropped. "What?"

Espie walked closer. "I think there may be a misunderstanding here." She stuck her hand out. "Hi, I'm Esperanza Grace Valdez, daughter of Calypso."

Leo staggered backwards. He shook his head. "No," he mumbled as he clutched his head, as if in pain. "No, no, no, no, no! This isn't happening! I never did that with Calypso! We never—!"

Espie steadied him. "Um, I don't think it was with you. My father _is_ Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, but—"

Leo snapped his head toward her. "No, I'm not! Calypso must have—"

Espie growled at him, her fiery aura rising up. "Listen, will you? Geeze, you're worse than my _Papi_!"

Leo took a step back, realizing it was her fire user nature that had appeared in front of him. He looked at Charlie, who shrugged and said, "I know. Freaky, right?"

Espie put her hand to her chin. "My father doesn't live in New York City, he lives in New Athens."

"Excuse me—where?"

"Shush. He's also not as old as you."

"Wow."

"And not as skinny."

"Can you not—?"

"And I definitely don't have three new siblings that happen to be children of Percy Jackson's sister—whom I didn't even know about until today."

Leo cocked an eyebrow at that. "You didn't? I think Calypso met Lou a few times…"

Espie shook her head. "No, that's not it. Let me explain: Zac and I were in the Big House back at camp when this mirror transported us into an alley. 'Couple minutes later, we run into Charlie."

Leo scratched his chin. "A mirror that transported you here?"

"Yeah. I think…" she thought for a moment. "I think this is a different reality. The mirror said something about reflections…Maybe this world and my world are reflections of each other!"

"You've lost me," Charlie said.

Leo shook his head. "You've hurt my head."

Espie shrugged. "I'm hurting my own head, but I think that's what happened."

"If I'm really you're father," Leo drawled. "Then…um…hang on, lemme think of a smart question to ask that only my children would know."

Espie rolled her eyes. "You're a son of Hephaestus, the only child of Esperanza Valdez (Sr.), the head builder of the _Argo II_ , savior of Olympus who decided to kamikaze Gaea. You make awesome tofu tacos and burgers, love pranking with Mr. Jackson and the Stolls…"

Leo blinked. "Okay, then…Maybe you Googled me. What's my favorite color?"

"Red."

"Who do I consider my sister, but she isn't my real sister?"

"Piper McLean, though I suppose she's Piper Grace to you, too?"

Leo nodded. "Who among the Seven do I fear the most?"

"Annabeth Jackson, cause she has no powers and almost stabbed you the first time you met."

Leo nodded again. "Checks out. But…this is awkward, meeting a daughter I didn't even know I had…"

Espie giggled. "Don't worry. I'm a twin. And, except for Zac, there's one more daughter after Tulio and I that you haven't seen, either."

"Wait, so which one is this? Zac or Tulio?"

Espie rolled her eyes. "I'm first-born, with my twin Tulio. Aria comes next, and finally is Zachariah."

Zac pouted. "Don't say that."

"Right, he prefers Zac, just like I prefer Espie over Esperanza."

Leo pinched his eyebrows together. "Oh, gods, this is a lot of kids I've apparently had with Calypso…all of you are Calypso's right?"

"Yes," Espie said.

Suddenly, a bronze-tipped arrow was impaled in the wall, inches away from Leo's ear. A few black curls floated down to the ground. Leo broke out into a sweat, his eyes wide as saucers. Espie, Zac, and Charlie turned around to see an angry woman with long black hair and stormy green eyes snarling at the group. She had another arrow notched on her bow, aimed at Leo's heart.

"Ya wanna run that by me again, Leo?" the woman growled. " _Who_ had children with Calypso?"

Leo gave a nervous smile. "I…I can explain, sweetheart…" He tried not to squeak out the next words: "I love you?"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Decided to let it just be Artemis's world this time around. Next chapter will be my universe, to check up on my Leo and Tulio.**_

 _ **And trust me, Lou is violent by nature, and I'm sure she would be very mad at anyone insinuating Leo cheating on her D:**_


	3. Searching

_**So, since Artemisapollo's Leo is about to die via his wife's hands, lets take a break and check up on my Leo.**_

 _ **I own nothing you recognize as canon. I also do not own any of ArtemisApollo97's OCs.**_

* * *

 **Three: Searching**

"Oh gods, your mother is going to kill me!"

Tulio Valdez had never seen his father so stressed. Leo worked a hectic schedule with long hours, endless requests and jobs, and hobby building in between. Not to mention he had to be the father of four children, two of which would be going to college in three years, and the main provider of a family of six. But, in the fifteen years Tulio had been with him, Leo had never been this frantic about _anything_.

Of course, Tulio had never seen his father actually _lose_ a child before, so...

" _Papi_ , calm down." The legacy placed his hand on his father's shoulder. Leo was sitting on the porch to the Hephaestus Cabin, pulling on his hair in his stressful state. "You're gonna be the first bald Valdez ever if you keep this up."

Normally, a joke would have cheered Leo right up; he'd be the one making the joke more often than not. But this was a situation involving his youngest boy and his favorite girl. If he couldn't find them by the time his wife got home, not only would she kill him, he would be in eternal sorrow if he never found out what had happened to Espie.

Tulio sighed and looked away from his panicked father for a moment. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was walking past them, covered in clay and paint. She looked rather annoyed.

"Rachel, have you seen Espie?" Tulio called to the Oracle.

Rachel turned. She shook her head. "I told her two hours ago to get me a bag of ribbons from the attic in the Big House. Simple, right? Somehow she's mucked it up. My inspiration's gone, now. I was just heading to the Big House now to go kick her."

Leo shot up like a bullet. "Mind if we come with? I didn't think to check there!"

Rachel shrugged. "I guess not. Why? Is something wrong?"

Tulio explained that they couldn't find Espie or Zac anywhere as they walked over to the Big House. Rachel calmed considerably when she noticed Leo was about to lose his mind.

"I'm sure they're fine, Leo," Rachel said. "They can't be too far away."

Tulio didn't mention his twin-link. It was like one of his limbs was missing. Without Espie around, Tulio felt incomplete and way more insecure than usual.

They all ascended the stairs and went up to the attic. No one was inside. Footprints in the dust suggested people had been in there earlier, but there were no footprints that suggested they had left. A bronze dolphin was sitting next to a box labeled _1994_. On the other side of the same box was a pile of stuff.

Rachel went over to the box and dug around. "Huh, it's not here," she murmured. "I could have sworn..." She glanced to the side and smacked herself. "Of course! The bag of ribbons was in the box labeled _1949_ not _1994_. No wonder she took so long to begin with!"

Leo started rifling through everything, looking for any hints of why Espie and Zac never left. "Maybe they're in here somewhere," he muttered. "They must have set something off, if they have my luck."

Tulio watched where he stepped, for fear his siblings were somehow made tiny. "Check the pile Espie made. Maybe something there made them disappear."

Rachel and Leo began picking apart the pile of stuff. Leo looked like he wanted to pocket some of the stuff he picked up, but Rachel warned him that some of these items were cursed. "They could activate if you hold them for too long," she said.

Tulio picked up a mirror and examined it. There was an inscription on it. When he read it aloud, Rachel froze.

"Was that in here?" she asked.

Tulio shrugged. "I guess. There's no tag or anything."

The Oracle groaned. "I think I know what happened. Espie must have looked in the mirror with Zac nearby. That mirror teleports the person to a reflection-type world. An alternate universe, so to speak. The universe it sends the user to is a reflection world where the person does not originally exist."

"How do you know this?" Tulio asked. "Is there an encyclopedia on cursed artifacts?"

"Probably in the Athena Cabin," Leo said.

"Because I went to a world that didn't have Rachel Elizabeth Dare a few weeks ago," Rachel informed them. "It was weird. There wasn't any Oracle, and there wasn't a second Great Prophecy, but somehow seven other demigods defeated Gaea. Anyway, the only way to get back here is to find this mirror in that world, or at least a shard of the mirror if it's broken."

"So, either we wait for gods know how long for my kids to figure it out," Leo began. "Or Tulio and I go and get them and find this mirror there."

"I like the second idea," Tulio said. "But, how will we get the right universe?"

"Easy." Rachel pointed at Tulio. "You look into the mirror and grab Leo's hand. You and Espie are twins. If Espie went to a world without her, you would go to the same place, because it would be without you, too, by default."

"But what if it took her to a universe where I was the only one born, like I never had a twin?"

"Just try not to think of it like that." She shoved the mirror closer to his face. Tulio wasn't really very self-conscious about the way he looked, much like Leo. Grungy, covered in grease, sweaty...a mechanic's reflection through-and-through.

A bright light invaded Tulio's vision suddenly, so he instinctively reached out to grab his father. He clamped on to Leo's arm just in time, before the light vanished and they found themselves outside in the middle of New York. Tulio no longer felt like he was missing a limb.

"Espie is here," he said.

Leo looked around, confused. "Where? I don't see her."

"Not 'here' here." Tulio rolled his eyes. "She's here in this world, though. I can feel her again."

"Can you find her?"

"Um...I can't exactly pinpoint her with this link. It's just a feeling. I can try to sense where she is, but it might take a while."

Leo nodded. "Let's just head in a general direction and see what you can do."

"Leo! Charlie!"

Leo and Tulio turned around to see Percy Jackson running towards them from the opposite side of the street. He was panting hard. "Hey, guys..." he took a big gulp of air. "You seen Lou? She said she felt something _off_ and literally ran from Camp to here. Tried to follow..." he sighed in agony. "Never again..."

Leo looked at Percy with a confused look.

"What?" Percy asked. "Dude, I know I'm not the prettiest guy after a run or workout, but...is there something on my face? Behind me?"

Leo shook his head. "Um...who's Lou?"

Percy paused, then laughed a bit. "Good one, Leo. _'_ _Who's Lou?'_ Like you wouldn't know my own sister is your wife."

Tulio blinked. "You have a sister?"

"And she's my _wife_?" Leo shouted. "What are you talking about?"

Percy narrowed his eyes. "Wait...what are _you_ talking about?"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Woo, everyone's in the same universe! And we meet Artemisapollo's Percy! But wait...it seems there's a case of mistaken identity! Tune in next time to find out how Espie, Zac, and AA's Leo are faring! Hopefully Lou hasn't torn Leo limb from limb.**_


	4. I'm Seeing Double!

_**We finally see everyone converge!**_

 _ **I own nothing you recognize as canon. I also do not own any of ArtemisApollo97's OCs.**_

* * *

 **Four: I'm Seeing Double!**

"Let me get this straight," Percy said, rubbing his eyebrows together. "You say you're Leo from a different universe that married Calypso and doesn't know anything about Louisa. I got that. You're here looking for your daughter and youngest son who came to this world through a mirror on accident. Cool. You disappeared for years before coming back to New York with twins? Cold, man. Please tell me someone beat you up."

The group consisting of Percy Jackson, Leo Valdez, and Tulio Valdez were walking down the streets of New York, heading for a specific place: the Valdez Household.

"The day I returned officially became Beat-up-Leo Day," Leo explained. "And Annabeth broke my nose upon meeting me. Piper broke my jaw."

Percy grinned. "Glad to know Annabeth isn't weak in your universe, either. How, uh...did we have kids where you're from?"

"Two. Lacy and Bobby."

Percy tilted his head. "Just two? Damn, and here I've got a family that reproduces like rabbits. Dad always said it was because I was the twin that got the 'fertility and plentiful bounty of the sea'. Poor Lou didn't get so lucky."

Leo chuckled. "Bounty? Shoot, I've got more kids than you in my world."

"What?"

Leo pointed at his son. "This is the younger of my twins, Tulio. The other twin is Esperanza. They're the eldest. Got two more under ten."

Percy chuckled. "Still doesn't beat my record, but I guess four kids is still a lot."

Leo grinned. "Gotta keep the 'big Mexican family' stereotype up, don't I?"

Both men laughed.

"So," Leo continued. "Who's Lou, anyway? You said she's your sister?"

"My twin."

Leo gave him a weird look. "Twin? Since when?"

"Since birth...? I don't have a twin where you come from?"

"Hell naw. This is news to me!"

Percy looked a little sad. "Sorry to hear that. I found out about Lou when I was sixteen and we've been inseparable ever since. I can't imagine my life without her."

Leo smiled. "It's all good, dude. I can't imagine my life without marrying Calypso. We traveled Europe together right after the war, you know. I needed her, and she needed me."

"And I get that." Percy smiled. "Our worlds are different, yet they feel the same. Only problem with you that I can see is that you're way more buff than the Leo I know. I can't believe I didn't notice those guns when I first ran up to you."

Leo smirked, flexing his biceps. "What can I say? Blacksmithing and mechanic-ing is a great workout."

"But you actually got muscles! Our Leo is skinnier than a stick and he lifts as much as you!"

Tulio chuckled. "Does your Leo cook for everyone and not eat? 'Cause that's what _Papi_ would do. Then Mom kept forcing food into him every time he skipped a meal."

"Could be. Lou eats a lot more than Leo, so I can imagine her starving him. So, where do you live in your world?"

"New Athens."

"New whatnow?"

"Annabeth and a bunch of other Athena kids got together and designed a city modeled after New Rome," Tulio explained. "And I think your reasoning behind it, when asked, was 'why do the Romans get a steady life when the Greeks are thrown out into the world at adulthood?'"

Percy shrugged. "Sounds like something I'd say...In fact, why _do_ the Greeks have to fend for themselves when the Romans get college and jobs and stuff? Granted, Greeks can go to New Rome for college now, but still..."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Valdez Household. Leo was happy this version got to have a quaint little house like this, with a garage and shop built-in. It wasn't as fancy as the one in New Athens, but hey... _work with what you got_.

A crash sounded from within the garage. Percy grimaced. "Uh-oh. I think Lou found your kids."

"She wouldn't beat up Espie, would she?" Tulio asked, worried.

Percy smirked. "Not unless Espie started it. No, Lou would be beating up Leo by now. Especially if she jumped to the conclusion that he slept with Calypso and had kids with her."

Leo blanched.

* * *

Espie was honestly scared of this woman. For realsies. Epsie could take on hoards of monsters without blinking, but this woman was a whole other level of crazy dangerous.

Other-Leo was currently on the ground, covering his head in defense. The woman was standing over him with her arrow drawn, glaring at him.

"Love me, my ass," she growled. "I'll ask again: _who_ had children with Calypso?"

"It wasn't him," Charlie protested. "He's not their dad, Mom."

"Minotaur shit!" Louisa fixed her stance and shot a project off a faraway table, which crashed gloriously. Another arrow was drawn and aimed at Other-Leo within seconds. "How do you explain how that girl looks just like ya, Leo?"

Zac, the brave and stupid child, decided to walk right up to Lou and pull on her sweatpants leg. She looked down and glared at him. Zac didn't flinch. "That not my _Papi_. He too old."

Lou faltered for a brief moment. "Not yer _Papi_. Who is?"

Espie stepped up. "Our father's name is Leo Valdez, but it's a different version. The Leo we know is bigger and younger. See, we're not supposed to be in this world. We just want to go home. Please don't kill this version of our dad."

Lou lowered her bow. "Normally I don't trust anyone with his face, and that includes Charlie. Gods know I've seen them use their good looks to get away with shit. But..." She looked at Zac. "I'm willin' to listen to reason if a baby brings up a point."

Zac pouted. "I'm a big boy!"

"'Course ya are, kid." She reached down and ruffled Zac's curls. "Ya got yer dad's hair, huh?"

Zac beamed. "Mommy says I'm too much like him."

Espie winked. "She's right. _Papi_ rubbed off on us too much. Our sister's the only one with Mom's attitude and hobbies."

"Am I safe yet?" Leo squeaked from his position on the floor. "Is my face allowed to come out now?"

Lou rolled her eyes. Espie could swear she'd seen eyes as green as that before. "Get up, Leo. Yer makin' a scene."

Leo stood up, brushing his hands on his shirt. " _I'm_ making a scene?! You nearly killed me!"

"But I didn't."

Leo huffed in annoyance. "Why did I marry a psychopath, again?"

"'Cause ya love me, and you'd be lost without me," Lou answered in a deadpan tone.

Leo smirked. "True."

Espie giggled. "By the way, Miss Louisa, he's crazy in my world, too. Only he would marry women as strong and as threatening as you or my mom."

"Didn't get the impression that Calypso could make a threat," Lou said. "And you can call me Lou."

"Okay, and oh yeah. She can make a threat. And back them up. One time, Dad decided that he was gonna build an army of mechanical orcs, and mom said no. When he built more than three, she kicked him out of the house and left him outside for two days with his little army. She even had Tulio reprogram the Tiny Festuses to attack him every time he came close to getting inside."

Lou barked out a laugh. She looked over at Other-Leo with a glint in her eye. "Maybe I need to have lunch with that immortal. I think she and I might get along after all."

He groaned. "Don't give Lou ideas! I like my beautiful face unbroken!"

"At least that's one thing we got in common!"

Everyone in the garage turned around to face the new speaker. Zac squealed when he recognized the short and muscled form of his father. " _Papi_!"

"Hey, _mijo_!" The two Valdezes hugged. Espie joined in.

When the moment was over, Leo slapped Espie upside the head. "What were you thinking?" he growled. "You scared me to death, running off with Zac like that to another universe! Do you have _any_ idea how your mother would have reacted if she found out about this?"

Other-Leo walked up and sized Espie's father up. Lou did the same.

She turned to her husband. "Where are _your_ muscles? I swear, I think I got the wrong Leo."

Charlie laughed, glancing at Tulio. Espie was baffled by how similar they looked, with their eyes being the only difference.

Other-Leo's lips formed a thin line. He looked rather uncomfortable. "I'm not sure I like a muscle-y me."

Leo looked his reflection up and down. "I'm not sure I'd like to stay as scrawny as my teenage self."

Charlie raised his hand. "Dad! Other-Dad! I got a question!"

Leo apparently hadn't seen Charlie yet, because he had a look of surprise when the teen boy came into view. "Um...okay?"

"Can you breathe fire?"

Other-Leo rolled his eyes. "We talked about this, Charlie."

"Well, yeah, _you_ can't breathe fire, Dad." Charlie shrugged. "But since this Dad is more muscle-y and different, I wanna see if I have a shot." He turned to Leo. "So, can you breathe fire? Can you?"

Leo put his finger to his chin. "Huh...I don't know, I've never tried."

Espie was suddenly curious. She sucked in a huge breath and aimed her head at Tulio (just in case). She summoned some fire to the inside of her mouth and spit it out. A fireball flew out and hit Tulio in the face.

Her twin yelped in alarm and fell into a project, knocking it (and him) to the ground. Espie slapped her knee in fun. "Aw, yeah! It's _totally_ possible!"

Leo cocked an eyebrow. "There you go. Question answered."

"But that doesn't mean _you_ can," Charlie whined.

"But you wanted to see if you had a shot at being able to do it," his father said.

Charlie stomped his foot. "Well sure, and you can totally bet that I'll be trying that later. But I want to know if Dad, in any incarnation, can breathe fire!"

Both Leos shrugged. Espie's father acted like he was going to burp for a second, then spat out an ember. He and Other-Leo looked at it curiously. It flickered out.

Espie burst out laughing. "Wow, _Papi_. You suck!"

Leo grumbled and crossed his arms. Other-Leo shook his head, muttering, "This is why you don't answer your kids' challenges."

Charlie bounced up and down. "Espie, you need to teach me how to do that. I _totally_ need to one-up Dad!"

Lou rolled her eyes. "Maybe later, Curls." She looked at Leo again. "So, you're the Leo that decided to marry Calypso."

Leo smiled. "To be fair, I've never met you, so please don't think I'm betraying you."

"If ya can raise three good kids like them," she said, pointing to Espie, Tulio, and Zac. "Then as far as I'm concerned, you're still good."

Other-Leo sighed. "So, you aren't gonna hurt me for marrying Calypso?"

She smacked him. "I'll hurt _you_ , dear husband, if you keep mentioning it."

"I'm hungry," Zac complained. "Food?"

Other-Leo shrugged. "Why not? Anyone up for a bacon sandwich? They're my specialty!"

Both Valdez families entered the house, ready to eat.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Well, everyone's met, now!**_

 _ **But wait...what about the mirror?**_


End file.
